A somewhat remarkable measure, which passed through the House of Representatives, but did not reach the later stages of legislation this session, was founded on a Bill brought in by Mr. Cullum for the suppression of Mormon practices in Utah. Clauses empowering the President to send an armed force into the Utah Territory were struck out in committee, but it was enacted that polygamy should be held a crime, punishable by forfeiture of the rights of citizenship, and that the property of Mormons who should leave Utah in order to evade the requirements of the law, or who should be imprisoned for resisting it, should be confiscated for the benefit of their families.

The financial measures of Congress were directed mainly to the reduction of the National Debt. The monthly statement of that debt, at the beginning of January, amounted to the figure of 2,658,000,000 dollars; the coin in the Treasury, 109,000,000 dollars; the currency, 12,500,000 dollars. In February, a motion. was brought forward in the House of Representatives, for making the principal of the Five-Twenty Bonds payable in currency; but it was rejected by a large majority. A Bill for the issue of additional currency to the amount of 45 million dollars, brought in by Mr. Sherman, received however the sanction of the Senate, by 39 votes against 23; soon after which, the House of Representatives passed a vote in favour of the large additional issue of 50 millions, which it declared to be absolutely necessary for carrying on the business of the country. This vote called forth no small indignation in the eastern parts of the Union, as betokening an intention to dispense with specie payments; and the Senate met it by a resolution declaring any further inflation of the paper currency to be inexpedient.

Meanwhile, the President made a statement as to the Government financial policy, which was received with satisfaction. He said that what had been done by the Administration, to effect an honest collection and economical expenditure of the revenue, was only an earnest of what Government intended to do; and promised that every dollar of superfluous outlay would be cut off. Schenck's Tariff Bill, and the President's own action, with regard to the American Navy Bill, were signs that the doctrine of Protection was still one of the main anchors on which American finance rested its hopes. At the end of February, or beginning of March, the House of Representatives passed a resolution, by 107 against 48, declaring that the interests of the country demanded such a tariff on foreign imports as would best protect home manufactures and industries, without impairing the revenue. On this resolution Schenck based the Tariff Bill, which was soon brought forward for discussion. After considerable debate on the details, however, the consideration of this bill was, on the 16th of May, postponed to another session, by the decision of a majority of 15.

General Schenck's new Funding Bill met with better success than his Tariff Bill. After amendment in the Conference Com

mittee, it passed both houses-the Senate without a division, and the House of Representatives by 137 against 35. This bill authorized the issue of a thousand million of dollars, in bonds paying 4 per cent. interest, and repayable in thirty years; as also of 300,000,000 dollars, in bonds paying 41 per cent. and repayable in fifteen years; lastly, of 200,000,000 dollars, in bonds paying 5 per cent. interest, and repayable in ten years. Mr. Garfield's Currency Bill was another financial measure of the session. When amended in the Committee, it authorized an increase of 54,000,000 dollars in National Bank notes. A bill to reduce taxation, and a bill for reducing the army to 30,000 men, also passed the two Houses of the Legislature. A proposed amendment to the Tax Bill, imposing a tax of 5 per cent. on income derived from the interest of the Government Bonds, was negatived after a sharp debate. The public debt at the close of the year amounted, in round numbers, to 2,332,000,000 dollars, being a decrease of 326,000,000 since January. The insurrection in Cuba against the Spanish Government had demanded the attention of the United States early in the year. A question was raised as to the recognition of insurgents as belligerents. President Grant was opposed to any such step, and in the middle of June, he sent a message to Congress, in which, while condemning the desperate and inhuman manner in which the conflict in the island was waged on both sides, he declared that the object of the Cubans, in urging the concession of belligerent rights, was to embroil America in a war with Spain, and that he was himself quite unable to see that the present condition of the contest constituted war in the sense laid down by international law. The question of belligerency, he said, was one of fact, not to be decided by sympathies for, or prejudice against, either party. The recognizing State was in no way concerned with the cause of quarrel. simply to ask itself the question, Do the relations between the parent State and the insurgents amount in point of fact to war, in the sense understood by international law? To justify a recognition of belligerency, there must be not only actual fighting; there must be "military forces acting in accordance with the rules and customs of war, flags of truce, cartels, exchange of prisoners." And not only this, there must be a de facto political organization of the insurgents, sufficient in character and resources to constitute their polity, if left to itself, a State among nations. Now the Cubans had neither an established seat of government, nor towns, nor seaports, nor Legislature, nor civil authorities, nothing in short that constitutes a political organization; and therefore they had none of those qualifications which in international law would fairly entitle them to be considered as belligerents. These were the President's arguments; and at the same time General Grant invited the attention of Congress to the question in all its bearings.

It had

An animated debate ensued. The Republican party was divided. Mr. Banks spoke in severely critical terms of the President's Message, and intimated that the author of the document was

Mr. Caleb Cushing, who had been lately employed as Counsel for the Spanish Government, in a case concerning the seizure of some gunboats. He denounced the course of the Spanish minister, Mr. Roberts, as insolent, and vehemently urged the House to adopt the pending resolutions, declaring neutrality between Spain and Cuba, and protesting against the barbarity with which the island war was carried on. General Butler spoke in defence of the course taken by the Administration; denied that Cushing had written the President's Message; and warned Congress that a war with Spain would prevent the success of the efforts so long persisted in, towards funding the National Debt. General Logan replied, censuring the attitude taken up by Government, and expressing regret that the President had been influenced to sign the Cuban Message. He earnestly appealed to Congress to interfere for the prevention of the barbarities attendant on the war. The end was, that the House, by a majority of 17, passed a proposal, substituted by Mr. Bingham for the "Resolutions," to the effect that the President was authorized to remonstrate against the atrocities of the war, and if he should deem it expedient, might solicit the co-operation of the Government to secure from both the contending parties the observance of the laws of civilized warfare.

The annexation of the Island of St. Domingo to the territory of the United States was a scheme which the President had very much at heart, but for which he failed to obtain the sanction of the Legislature. There was an influential party rigidly opposed to the extension of the United States' dominions beyond the mainland; and though the St. Domingo President, Borez, desired the annexation, and a treaty was drawn up and a favourable vote given upon it by the inhabitants of the island, the Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations, at Washington, to whom it was subsequently referred, reported adversely on the project; and it was decisively rejected by a vote of the Senate itself on the 30th of June.

Another annexation scheme which was mooted, but which was left to stand over for this year, regarded the British settlement of Columbia. A memorial was sent in by some of the colonists, petitioning for admission into the Union; and upon this memorial a resolution was passed, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations to consider the expediency of proposing to the British Government a transfer of dominion as the condition of a treaty for settling all disputes between the two Governments.

Unfortunately another cause, or excuse, for ill-feeling against England was given this year by the accidental collision between two vessels, the "Oneida," American war-steamer, and the "Bombay," Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer, on the 24th of January, near Yokohama, when the American vessel was run down, and 115 lives lost. The Government of the United States complained loudly of the conduct of Mr. Eyre, the British commander, in continuing his voyage without heeding the destruction of the American vessel; and a resolution was passed by the House of

Representatives, and adopted by the Senate, in April, ordering an inquiry into the circumstances of the collision.

More propitious to friendly relations between the Governments were the circumstances attendant on the Fenian raid into Canada. On the 24th of May the President issued a proclamation saying that he had received information of the preparation of illegal expeditions against the people of Canada by inhabitants of the United States, and that all participation in or furtherance of such proceedings would forfeit the protection of the United States' Government and render the promoters amenable to justice. The proceedings alluded to were those which culminated in the Fenian raid into Canada, when the insurgents advanced two hundred well armed men, under General O'Neill, across the border near Franklyn, Vermont. They were repulsed by the Canadian Volunteers, and, in the flight back over the border, O'Neill was arrested by the United States' officer, Marshal Forster. Another band, under a Fenian leader named Gleeson, crossed the border from Malone; but these men too were repulsed, and in their flight Gleeson and others were captured by the American authorities. The prisoners were placed in confinement to await their trial for a breach of the neutrality laws. For his action in this matter President Grant received an expression of satisfaction from the British Government through Mr. Thornton, the British Minister. The Fenian leaders were tried in the course of the summer, and received sentences of imprisonment, but with recommendations to mercy, which were subsequently acted upon, while at the same time a stringent proclamation against future raids was issued by the President.

The Treaty of Naturalization agreed upon between Lord Clarendon and Mr. Motley, the United States' Minister in London, was published in August. It provided that British subjects who are naturalized according to law within the United States as citizens thereof, shall be held by Great Britain to be in all respects, and for all purposes, citizens of the United States, and shall be treated as such by Great Britain. Reciprocally, citizens of the United States who are naturalized within the British dominions shall be held to be British subjects, and shall be treated as such by the United States. Such subjects shall be at liberty to renounce their naturalization and to resume their nationality, provided that such renunciation be publicly declared within two years after May 12, 1870.

A slave trade Convention with England was also ratified in August, whereby the mixed Courts at Sierra Leone, Cape of Good Hope, and New York were finally suppressed, and their jurisdiction made over to the respective Courts of the two nations.

On the 22nd of August the President issued a Proclamation of Neutrality in respect of the war between France and Germany. At the outbreak of that contest German sympathy ran high in the United States. The German inhabitants of New York celebrated the early victories of their compatriots with animated tokens of rejoicing. After the introduction of the Republican form of govern

ment in France, however, the balance of sympathy changed, and the public Press of the United States took the French side mostly. The President at once recognized the Government of the Defence Committee.

The State and Congressional elections took place on Tuesday, October 11th, when, under the conditions of the new Suffrage Amendment Act, the whole negro population voted. The result was favourable to the Democratic party. The Republicans lost several Congress votes. It had been proposed by the House of Representatives, early in the year, to fix the numbers of the new House of Representatives at 275, exclusive of the representatives of newly admitted States, instead of the old number, 234; changes had been also made in the redistribution of seats, in accordance with the changes in the relative population of the States; thus some members were taken from New England to be apportioned to the Western States; but these changes were to be partly dependent on the results of the Census which was set on foot this autumn. Except in the case of a riot at New Orleans the elections every where passed off quietly. The Congress assembled at Washington on December 5th, when the President delivered his Message. Unfortunately, during the course of the summer, two new subjects of dispute had arisen with Great Britain, or rather as the front of the offence, with Canada. One related to the fisheries on the Canadian coast; the other to the navigation of the St. Lawrence. On the first of these subjects the President's Message, as summarized, stands thus:-The course pursued by the Canadians towards the fishermen of the United States during the past season had not been marked by a friendly feeling. The President recounts the history of the negotiations and treaties on this subject, and says an irresponsible agent has exercised his authority in an unfriendly way. Vessels have been seized without notice, in violation of the custom previously prevailing, and been taken into colonial ports, their voyages broken up, and the vessels condemned. There is reason to believe that this unfriendly and vexatious treatment was designed to bear harshly upon the United States fishermen, with a view to a political effect upon this Government. The Canadian statutes assume still broader and more untenable jurisdiction over United States vessels; they authorize officers or other persons to bring vessels hovering within three marine miles of the Canadian shore into port, search the cargo, and examine the master on oath, and inflict heavy penalties if true answers are not given. The President recapitulates another Canadian statute on the subject decreeing the forfeiture of vessels. "It is not known," he says, "that any condemnations have been made under this statute. Should the Canadian authorities attempt enforcing it, it will become the President's duty to take such steps as may be necessary to protect the rights of American citizens. The Canadian laws deny American fishing-vessels access to their ports, except for supplies, and then Pompel departure in twenty-four hours. No seizure is known to have